Pak PM insists no clash between institutions

Karachi: Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has insisted there was no clash between institutions of state, though differences of opinion may exist, amid signs of strain between the Army and judiciary.

The Prime Minister made such comments for a second time in two days, clearly aimed at downplaying apprehensions expressed by some political parties and analysts after speeches made by Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

"There is no clash yes there can be a difference of opinion," he said at a function held Port Qasim Authority to inaugurate an automobile plant.

The Chief Justice had said in his speech on Monday that missiles and tanks never guaranteed stability and security of a country, and that Supreme Court judges were the guardians and protectors of the Constitution.

The chief justice`s statement had come after General Kayani warned against undermining of the state`s institutions and behaving as the sole arbiters of national interest.

The government too has been at loggerheads with the judiciary over the apex court`s insistence that the graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari be reopened.

The prime minister said that everyone in the country would have to take the role of an impediment in the face of extremism.

He said Pakistani society was one that cherished its values of peace and tolerance.

The Premier also highlighted the fact that a positive message had gone out to the world with the holding of the International Defence Exhibition in Karachi.